Ripped Off- The Unexpected Crime
by CartoonloverGrl2000
Summary: Animators, editors and voice actors are done for the day. Electronics shut down. All except for the storage of information, that cannot be seen by a human eye. Cartoons come to life, traveling within the wires and cables, meeting other characters; same channel or not, they will get along. But after a certain law was broken, a virus spread, so did distrust...
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, everyone! Yes, I'm working on a new fic. To those of you who've reviewed/faved my first two stories and are reading this, the reason I haven't been publishing more chapters from my other fics are because of writer's block, and I sincerely apologize. I really loved working on them, as well as drawing them out and so. But I will eventually get more ideas in my head. So here's something entirely different that I just got into my head (yes, a "multi"-crossover that will feature different characters from different shows) . Hopefully when I get the first chapter done I'll be able to work on the other ones.**

 **Chapter 1: change**

 _All cartoons that came from other channels are welcome, especially if they're new. But the newest shows that are too similar to others that didn't air too long ago-or "rip-offs", as they are called, are not, sadly. There is a reason for that; our government of cartoons do not want anything bad happening. Rip-offs can be-no, they ARE dangerous. Not only to the shows that are ripped off, but to our society. To us cartoons. Any rip-offs shall be directed to the jury of the cartoon universe. Any guilty, shall be perished. The judges will decide, and when one is guilty, they will be cancelled by going into the minds of the creators, and shut down their creations of the characters-permanently. Are there any objections to this act?_

Files are saved. Computers shut down. Animators, voice actors, and directors are done for the day. They packed up and left, leaving several equipments behind. Some of those, are the cables and wires attached to the computers used for animation and editing.

Inside the computers, are tiny electric lights, somehow floating freely inside the cables. Not as tiny as germs, but tiny. And inside the lights, are animated characters, all from different cartoons, movies, and even video games, move to a certain area, where all created characters live, and in there, are different universes, so large that it takes years (or as for the cartoons, a few months) to travel through every single one of them.

 _In the main station..._

A voice sounded through the corners of every room, large or small. A light blue, six-legged octopus, whom everyone kept confusing him of a squid, was interrupting everyone in the middle of their final work of the day.

"Alright, everyone. It's time to pack up, feel free to have free-time, freely, and make sure you all return to your stations or homes before eleven P.M... (except for me)..." He spoke on the microphone, while wearing a water helmet. A red crab then blocked his place.

"And don't forget to go to the Krusty Krab! The best restaurant under the sea!" He then scurried away, still somehow sounding very noticeable, most likely because of the cartoony sounds of a walking crab. The octopus sighed, and was about to announce a sarcastic apology until the crab rushed back to the microphone.

"And don't forget to pay me money! Arrr-har-har-har-har-har-har!" He scurried away once again. The octopus groaned.

...

The security cameras slowly moved around, capturing every view of the station, 24/7.

Different cartoons, whether from the same show, channel, creator, or not, had their chances to meet each other, and communicate in person, freely as they wish. Restaurants, arcades, and bathrooms are all over the place. And for those who can't breathe most air, live, work and relax in certain areas where water is available; created by certain molecules able to be seen and used by characters in the cables.

A group of characters from one channel, were walking their way home, until, all of a sudden, a short raccoon, pushed pass them rudely.

"Hey! What the heck!" One shouted. An anthropomorphic blue-jay went past them as well, following the other character. He then turned back, looking apologetically at the irritated ones with over- exaggerated expressions. He then went back to chasing after his friend.

"Rigby!" The blue-jay shouted. "Rigby, wait!"

Once the raccoon headed into a certain cafe, the bird then slowed down, walking his way inside. He looked around, then noticed the raccoon, who seated himself at a table. A mole waitress, with a surprisingly human look, yet around the raccoon's height, was there, ready to take his order.

"Rigby..." The bird walked up to him.

"Oh, hi Mordecai," Rigby replied, not seeming to notice Mordecai's frustration.

"Dude, this is the _fourth_ time you broke a minor law of the _fifth_ season of our show!" After saying that, the avian greeted the mole waitress with a simple "Hey, Eileen". She greeted back with a "'sup", and walked away. He then faced back at his friend.

"Hey, relax man," the raccoon said in a cool manner. "At least those 'laws' are minor! I mean, sure: we're all suppose to respect each other, be nice and friendly, even to people who were not friendly and all that crap. But guess what? There's still going to be some "rule-breakers" out there due to the fact that some things are just the way they are, like animated characters with a nasty personality... take a villain from a PG-13 show or film, as an example."

"Yeah, but you're not really acting like the 'Rigby' everyone knows from our show! You must've gotten a ton of fans from the organic world , already! Look what would happen if they see you now!"

"And how would they know about me...?"

"They-"

"I've never seen who my voice actor or animator is, and neither have you! No one knows what their organic creators are like! So _how_ do you explain knowing if I have fans and the other two 'F's? You know that all we do is work, take extremely short breaks, work, sleep and work again, every... single... day!"

Mordecai stared, holding back his breath during the mammal's entire argument. Finally he sighed.

"Y' know, I don't wanna talk about this every day, _or_ week. So you know what? I won't bother anymore. Whatever you do, just do whatever you're most comfortable with. That's all. I'll just go." He casually walked out of the cafe.

Rigby sat on his stool, his jaw dropped with shock. Mordecai all of a sudden wasn't acting like the Mordecai from the show- their show. He _would_ leave in a situation like this, one that he accidently caused even, but not like... that...

A few seconds after, a sharp sound echoed through the virtual air. Sharp, but not sharp enough to actually sting one's ears. Unless you're very close to the intercom- like Rigby.

"Ugh!" The mammal covered his ears with his hand-like paws, and waited for the ringing to stop. Once it did, a feminine announced:

"Pardon for the interruption, Riggerson 'Rigby' Salyers from 'Regular Show', please report to the main office, Riggerson 'Rigby' Salyers from 'Regular Show', please report to the main office, thank you."

She then hung up.

"Huh?" _Did the lady just call me, adding an extra name?_ Rigby thought. _Is 'Salyers' my voice actor's name?_

He hopped off his chair, and scurried his way to the office. This time, he was a bit nervous compared to the last times he was reported or sent to the office. This time, he decided to report himself, not wanting any guards to force him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, so here's Chapter 2: Just a Greet. It will have more characters, from different shows/channels, and even a few OCs that don't exactly have a major role in the story, but you'll see...**

And I should probably type this too, should I?: _I do not own most characters that are in this story; most belong to their original creators and channel. There are going to be many different ones, so I had decided not to list them. But certain characters will belong to certain channels, such as:_ _ **Cartoon Network**_ _,_ _ **Nickelodeon**_ _,_ _ **The Hub**_ _,_ _ **Disney Channel**_ _, and even_ _ **Adult Swim**_ _._

Chapter 2: Just a Greet

The raccoon sighed, while in the middle of walking to the main office. Finally standing in front of an elevator, Rigby pressed the only button that controls the lift.The button lit up, and so did a number at the top of the elevator. The light quickly switched to a smaller number, making a beeping sound at each blink. A few seconds later, the doors finally opened.

Once inside, the animated mammal pressed the number "20". He waited, tapping his finger on a handle. For an elevator, it moves fast enough to make Rigby's stomach drop. In about ten to twelve seconds from the first floor, it reached floor twenty.

He stepped out, leaving the elevator to close itself. Then, he stopped, and looked around. The halls seem to be darker and slightly saturated compared to the other times he has been here. Not only that; there were no other people around, when usually it would be crowded, with characters trying to collect data or other works, trying to send them to the right place. But now, it's...

"A total ghost town...?" Rigby muttered to himself, surprised. "Huh. I thought there were gonna be guards or business-people around or something..."

Though dark, the raccoon managed to walk his way to the main office- not to mention that it was the only room that exposed plenty of light. He knocked a few times, then calmly called out, "Mr. S?"

The response was mild laughter. But no sign of telling him to come in.

 _'Who the 'h' is laughing...'_ Rigby thought. He knocked again, this time more firm. What he got was another group of voices; again, laughing. Getting a headache, he finally pushed the door open, with the doorknob making a squeaking sound.

"Mr. S-"

Several faces either looked up or turned around from their seats. A few were recognizable, but most were not.

"Ah, Rigby! How nice of you to show up!" A man in grayscale colors gave a cheery smile.

"Uh, wasn't I reported to come here?" The mammal's expression gave a twist, from annoyed to perplexed; his eyelids narrowed on one eye, the other twitching, though light enough for the others to not notice.

"Oh! Right, right, right!" The man stood up and pointed at a gray, empty stool.

"Have a seat!" He said, gesturing his offer in _some sort_ of an over-exaggerated way- as far as the raccoon can tell, he was definitely pure pencil-drawn. A few limbs and areas were completely shaded in black, depending on the direction and angle he was standing. And while in motion, some parts of the "anatomy sketch" were either clearly or lightly shown, as if his design was unfinished.

" _Hello?_ Anybody home?" The raccoon snapped back to his virtual world. The gray character was snapping his fingers continuously. Rigby quickly sat down onto the metal stool. He looked at the other chairs, hoping to find a more comfortable one. The sofa and velvet-like cushions were all occupied.

"So..." A sharp voice interrupted. Rigby snapped back to the man's attention again. He was sipping a mug of hot coffee. After taking a break from his drink, he continued:

"You all may be wondering why I reported all of you to come here... well, technically it was a woman, but you get the idea..." He cleared his throat.

"Anyways... remember last Earth week when there was this... announcement about new shows coming up the following week?"

"Yeah?" Some replied, others nodding.

"Well, the 'next week' is today!"

The others grinned and mumbled in agreement. They were then interrupted by a word.

"So," Rigby began. "What are the new shows? And-uh... " He took a second to think. "Am I in trouble?"

Mild giggling was heard from behind.

"What?" He turned around. "It's not like I've been called to come here _just_ because I'm _not_ in trouble... right?" He turned back to face Mr. S. "I mean, that's about the main reason I was called here, so..."

More giggling.

"Oh, why no, no, no, no!" The colorless character said all of a sudden. "I called you here- or rather, all of you here, for a special task for each _or_ every two or three of you to do..."

"Wait, you mean like a job?" The raccoon impatiently blurted out.

"Hmm, well not exactly..." The man looked up at the ceiling, tapping his chin.

A noodle arm rose up.

"Yes, Jake?"

"Is it..." The orange pug-like animal held his sentence. "Fun?"

"Erm..."

More questions began blasting at him without permission. It went on and on, until Mr. S had to yell, "QUIET!"

Everyone froze, their eyes still locked on the man, whose eyes were popping out, dark veins showing around the edges. They turned back to normal once he stopped panting.

"Now that you all are listening: I have _already_ assigned your places."

The colored characters shifted their eyes at each other, then back at Mr. S.

"Alright! So..." He pulled a desk drawer out and took out a thick, heavy packet. Rigby grunted. He wasn't expecting to be given "business work"- being an actor and working as a groundskeeper was tiring enough.

"And if any of you are wondering: no, this is not exactly the so-called most 'important business work'."

Okay, that made the raccoon shudder. He wasn't expecting the dude to know him _that_ well, either. Or maybe it was just a coincidence...?

"But these _are_ your assignments, after all. They also can be called: homework."

 _'GAAHH! If there's anything worse than that, my brain will explode!'_

Suddenly, laughter took over his thoughts. He looked up, seeing characters gawking and cackle mockingly at him.

"What? What are you guys laughing about!?" Then it hit him, causing his ears to lower.

"I said that aloud didn't I...?"

"Yep," Mr. S nodded, handing the raccoon a section of the packet. The mammal hesitantly took it, and read the first page:

Guide(s) Name(s) *From original (last) to animated (first)*:

Salyers, "Rigby" Riggerson

Guide(s)'s Occupation:

Groundskeeper in R.S. Park

Guide(s)'s Occupancy:

997, Wire 10th Ave, Channel CN, Cable 519.06

 _'These are already filled up,'_ Rigby thought. _'Most likely by Mr. S.'_ The raccoon added, for being familiar with the handwriting. He then looked at the bottom of the page, where the last fill-in was.

Guide(s)'s Creator:

J.G. Quintel

The mammal rolled his eyes.

"Oh, so NOW I know who my creator is..."

He flipped to the next page. It contained the same questions, only this time, instead of "guide", it said "attending character". There were also some extras that needed to be filled in, such as the gender, species, race/breed, and all the "sensitive" information. Not that anything was filled out yet. Except...

Attending Character(s)'s Name:

Craig Slithers

"Okay- then..." The next thing he knew, was that he was on his way to the main entrance, or exit, of the main station in his view.

"Okay..." He breathed heavily. Then exhaled lightly. "Just say hi to them like you say it to every person you've met before. It's just a simple greet. Yeah, like, 'what's up'..."

"Just a greet..."


	3. Chapter 3

**Oke doke! Here's Chapter 3 for all of you! It's called: "Copy Crap"... LOL, JK, JK... but there's a reason for that anyway- maybe for the next chapter- no, not exactly for humorous reasons... Anyways, this time, we're heading on to the "rising action" of this story... at least I think that's what it's called... nah that should be after this...**

 _I DO NOT own most characters from this story. Most will belong to their creators, and channels, including:_ _ **Cartoon Network**_ _,_ _ **Nickelodeon**_ _,_ _ **Disney Channel/Disney XD**_ _,_ _ **The Hub**_ _, and occasionally, or possibly just cameos, of_ _ **Adult Swim**_ _characters._

Chapter 3: The Line

A certain raccoon stared down at his worksheet once more, before walking to the front desks. He stood on his toes so that he could see the clerk more clearly, interrupting a conversation between one woman with gray hair, glasses and an arched back, and a young looking redhead in a business suit.

"Hey- excuse me lady, but do you know-"

"'EY! Watch it y-you l-l-little r-rat!"

 _BONK!_

The old lady somehow had a cane with her the whole time, which she used to whack Rigby with on the head.

"OW!" Rigby groaned. "What was _that_ for? I was just trying to ask for-"

That was when everyone behind him yelled in frustration. Turning his head, the raccoon's ears lowered again, his eyes wide enough to cover half of his face, and the pupils were nothing more than a poke from an ink pen.

"Oh..."

"Um, excuse me, but you need to get in the line..."

The mammal turned his head, and saw the redhead staring at him, gesturing him to stand in the back of the line.

"Oh! Right!" Rigby replied. _Now_ he knows why everyone was angry. He walked his way to the back, face-palming himself as if expressing the, "how-could- have-I-been-so-stupid" look, but what the others didn't know, is that he was hiding of embarrassment. He has never shown true embarrassment while acting for his show, and obviously because everything wasn't _supposed_ to be real, but if the his feelings _were_ happening during an act- people would've laughed. Well, that is the whole point of his- his _creator's_ show. It's an animated comedy, like the yellow animated family he and Mordecai met once, known as "The Simpsons." Except... his- _his creator's_ show was targeted towards- most likely- young adolescents _to_ adults. Those guys on the other hand? They're definitely for adults.

 _Wait, why am I thinking off-topic?_

"Hey kid! We've been wai'in' here for four whole minutes! You on the line or what?"

"Huh?" The raccoon's heart jumped from the sudden interruption. He turned his head, looking up, only seeing another angry-looking woman. But after the same voice shouted again, he realized he had to look down.

A short, blue creature, with a beard and two tiny buckteeth and horns was standing behind him the whole time. And he is a tiny character. Like, really, tiny. Squashed-by-the-foot-and-picked-up-by-the-palm tiny. Yet, his voice was unrealistically deep, despite his size. Not only that, he looks _familiar_.

Rigby, trying not to look embarrassed, quickly took action.

"Hey man- I mean dude- or whatever you are... I was just trying to- uh-" He looked around.

"Tryin' to... what?" The smaller character interrupted (again), getting impatient.

Rigby looked back at the creature, and sighed, as if defeated.

"Oh!" He began, suddenly changing the tone of his voice. "Did I say 'try'? Well, excuse my grammar- but I meant that I was distracted by some-" He searched for a fitting word. "-actions..."

The blue character only exhaled in annoyance. "Just get moving," is all he said. And there's no need for him to say it twice. Instead, it was something else.

"Chestnut is gettin' tired of waitin."

Rigby paused. "Wait... Chestnut?" He looked back at the creature, suddenly remembering who he was. "You're one of the minor characters of 'Chowder'!"

"Yeah, yeah, just get moving..." Okay, so he _did_ say it twice.

"But, wasn't your show-"

"It's not my show, or anybody's show, anymore!" Chestnut spat out. "That _show_ is old now, and was cancelled months ago, or _years_ ago from outside of this virtual world! The 'Chowder fans' must've already forgotten about us!"

"But-"

"And that _year_ , was when several new shows started to take over; including yours!"

The raccoon froze. His ears lowered in defeat, having nothing to say. He was usually known to be the "immature" and "impolite" type, but he really wanted to _at least_ show sympathy for another character. He'd mock at the "kiddy shows", especially the animations with "childish" character designs, and "crappy kids' morals"; whenever he had the chance, such as with his friends- most being from his creators' current show and older ones as well. Speaking of kiddy shows, He was referring to the short character's show as one of them.

And this mocking and teasing has been going on for approximately three years. In virtual world of cartoon channels, a year would feel like six months, instead of six years.

Rigby sighed.

"I'm... sorry, that, I upset you... how about if you guys go in front of me...? I'll just..." He looked at the other stands, which happened to also have long lines.

Another sigh.

...

What felt like hours for a living organism passed. During that time, Rigby decided to pay attention to two things: the line, and thinking, which he was usually too lazy to work on, but what the heck. Time isn't going to take that long anyway.

He then remembered to pay attention to the laws more often. After hearing what Mordecai said, he had to. Though the laws he broke so far were all minor, he can't risk it again to lose a friend. So he started with math and scientific "stuff". Memorizing from a textbook read from last night (for not having a chance to play video games, since the television screen broke ((again)), he began:

 _An animated cartoon can_ _ **walk**_ _thousands of kilometers per step- that is, how it may most possibly feel for a living organism, including the species that have created them, known as "humans". Although the outside world may seem to move at a much slower pace, doesn't mean that an animation can break through the wires, fly out of the cable and get a chance to see the full Earth. The most genius cartoon scientists have studied the air out in the world, and have browsed through the "automatically locked Safe-Search" internet (and only getting the chance to_ _ **know**_ _that only humans have made more things discoverable), and have seen and shown the outer atmosphere of the Earth. If an animation were to be exposed to the outer world, it would rather look like an electric spark of light. With further examinations, it is possible for electricity to fade in several seconds in mid-air, so it_ _ **may**_ _perish a cartoon. So far, no character has ever gone out to the oxygen before, but neither was it recommended. It has been restricted from being exposed to our virtual world, at around year 1998, with the exceptions of three-dimensional/organic life/copy-and-paste effects._

That was about the scariest yet coolest research Rigby has ever gone up to. He wanted to try it out, but remembering that it was a law, he regret it.

He then started memorizing the next chapter, ignoring the "classwork and homework" he went through (but didn't do).

 _The mind of an animated character can build up to use 130% of information to be stored in the brain, or body, if one doesn't have a brain. Everything else used to control and create the body is 230%. On average, 40% can be memorized information learned each day, while the other 90% is usually something we hold on to, or have to be reminded about, until something new comes in. Though our creators, the humans, have much less storage in their brains at a time. They have a 100% capacity of use total, but only use 10% for storing information they learn daily._

Huh. He didn't exactly remember that until now for some reason.

"Next!"

A feminine voice called.

Oh. Looks like it's time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey dudes! I have been having major writer's block lately, since my mind has been ALL over the place. I am sincerely sorry about that… I have actually been trying to catch up with the plot of this story, though… Sort of a part of my long-term memory system now ha, ha! Anyways, without further ado… Chapter 4!**

 **P.S., sorry if Rigby is OOC. I know that in the latest seasons of RS, he is more mature, but in this, he may not be "himself", or rather, the Rigby we know from the show itself… It's like the voice actors- they have different characteristics when acting as another character, yet in real life they are "themselves". Thus, this chapter takes place back in 2012.**

* * *

"Hi, how are you!" A woman smiled. Rigby responded with a simple nod.

"So, what can I help you with?"

"Well, I have a few things…" The raccoon put his packet on the desk, and flipped to the second page.

"I have been assigned to 'guide' a new character coming, and… um… 'Craig' is who I'm supposed to help… ya know where he is…?" He asked, handing the lady the packet.

The woman browsed through the page, her eyes shifting quickly from left to right of the book. She then faced her computer, and used the mouse to click on something. After typing several keys down, she finally spoke.

"Well, he is going to belong to the Nickelodeon channel… the genre is slapstick… and… he is—a main character… and- "

"Yeah, yeah- well, I don't really need to know all that—I just needed to know where he is…"

The lady looked up. "Oh! Right. He's at the 'New Year' party room!"

"The 'New Year' party room?" Rigby scoffed. "What kind of a place is _that_?"

"Uh, the room where every new show or pre-accepted shows' cast goes for a welcome party… duh…" She answered with a sass, and with one eye half-lidded.

"… Isn't 'New Year' like, a holiday?"

The receptionist sighed. "Look, just… it's two cables North behind the main station, okay?"

"What? But that means I'll have to take the electron ride!"

"Well, I'm sorry about that, sir."

Rigby sighed.

"Are there any express electrons in any of the nearby atom stations?"

"I- don't- know," she replied, shaking her head at a slow rate. "There's only one atom station here, and I only take local, so I can't help you with that."

"Aw, come on!" Rigby threw his arms up in complaint. He then groaned after letting them fall back down. "Fine… I'll just go…"

He walked away. The woman sighed for the last time, then realized how the other receptionists are staring at her with confused expressions.

Suddenly, Rigby came back, stood on his tip-toes and grabbed the packet from her desk, and walked away again.

* * *

Rigby hated taking the electrons. He _hated_ it. It's always crowded with stuff. People, inanimate objects, pets and worst of all, taller characters who are apparently are much more stinky than the raccoon himself. Also, every time he arrives at an atom station, no matter at what time, one ride is already out of seats! And he can't… stand… _standing_!

The raccoon grunted. He scanned his ID at the entrance, which then caused the door to unlock. He opened it, walked downstairs to the lower area of the station, and, at the same time, came an electron going to the North Cable End.

 _'This is a North Cable End bound, "M", local ride. The next stop is: "Mid-Town Con Avenue._ '

The opened part of the electron's field closed up. A few seconds after, the sphere-shaped element particle began to vibrate lightly, and then rapidly. Rigby held onto an available hook on the wall, before a hard "thump!" occurred. The micro-vehicle's outer shell rocked from back to forward, and then began driving.

There were several diagonally curved turns, constant spinning and static thumps felt throughout the two stops. Another thing Rigby hated about standing.

* * *

' _Attention: The "E", "F", and "K" electrons will not stop at: The McPherson Museum of Science, 25_ _th_ _Street, 36_ _th_ _Street, and New Year Boulevard. To get to these stops, please transfer to the "C" electron, by walking past "Toon City" to the nearby station. Connection is also available, to the "Cable Z Express Rides".'_

Groaning the loudest, the cartoon raccoon hopped off the micro-vehicle, grunting from all the stress of tight spaces. Or rather, he didn't get _any_ personal space.

Not only that, but he has to walk again!

He walked to a corner of the sidewalk, to check the street number. It was 23rd street.

He then gently shut his eyes for a few seconds, or light-seconds according to the Earth's count. Then, once he opened them, strands of lines, with angles similar to the lines of computer chips, glowed around his body.

The raccoon touched the back of his left ear, and a mild 'beep!' sounded.

"Map," he said in a stern tone. In his designed brain, something around the corner of it somehow responded.

A light blue hologram appeared in front of the raccoon. It had the current location set, hence where the blinking dot was standing.

"Okay… now where is… the New Year Party room?"

The hologram began glowing for some time, and soon, a result came up.

'New Year Building.'

"Building?" He scoffed again, remembering what the receptionist said from before. But he didn't even bother complaining about titles or words. He pressed the one destination, and started walking after the hologram disappeared. The character had the whole destination in his head now.

* * *

"… okay… now where is that building…" Rigby shifted his pupils left-to-right, and for a while, stood in the one corner he is in now. Why couldn't his M.C.C.P.S, which stood for "Mental Calculating Cable Positioning System", even detect the location in crowded areas? A damn cable POSITIONING SYSTEM!

Luckily, when he finally faced behind the corner, he spotted a glimpse of a tall, shiny building, with large, clear initials of letters "N.Y.B".

"That must be it!" He said aloud. The raccoon walked a few feet forward, where the number of characters walking around decreased quickly. It turned out to be another area in front of that building—just as its silver antenna was fully shown.

Not only that however; the place in front was labeled "restricted". Which could explain why everyone took the longer route; at least, according to Rigby's MCCPS, it was longer.

And, the huge house directly in the center, looked awful _familiar_ …

It took quite the time for the character to make his choice on where to head. But mostly, he couldn't stop staring at the house.

Then it hit him.

"… Toon City…" Rigby whispered to himself.

Despite the cracks on the streets, the litter that looked as if it was never cleaned up in forever, and the emptiness of certain areas that could use a tree or two—he remembered.

* * *

 _Fall, 2008_ …

" _SURPRISE!"_

 _The brown-furred mammal jumped. He stared at the crowd in front of him, with his best friend, an anthropomorphic blue jay, who was supporting the short character from falling backwards._

 _Before either of them could respond in any way, a tall, gray hare approached the two._

 _The rabbit somehow took out a carrot from behind his back, with no one really knowing how he got one. Using his two front buckteeth, he made a small bite onto the carrot, leaving a perfect, smooth chop on the tip of the remaining vegetable._

" _Ehh… What's up, Doc?" He "asked" in his signature tone._

 _The two kept staring. After a few seconds, the rabbit burst out laughing, along with the rest of the crowd._

" _I'm just messin' with ya!" He chuckled. "I know you two aren't docs, but signature moves, am I right?" They laughed again._

 _When everyone in front of the newcomers calmed down, the bunny lent a gloved hand out._

" _Name's Bugs. Bugs Bunny."_

 _The two looked down at his hand. The blue jay gently shoved his friend off, before grasping the other character's hand._

" _M-Mordecai…" He said, giving a polite but half-forced smile._

 _Bugs noticed. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's hard to meet new fellas, but trust me, this is the place where we all get along!" He gave a soft, understanding smirk. He then faced the raccoon, who quickly glanced at anything other than him._

" _And what's your name, kid?"_

 _Mordecai quickly stepped in._

" _Oh! U-uh, he's not a kid! He's the same age as me… twenty-three, which is… heh…"_

 _Bug's eyes widened a bit._

" _Oh, really?"_

" _Yeah!" The blue jay's confidence seemed to build up. Seems like he really cares for the raccoon._

 _The mammal, upon hearing the two, slightly looked up._

" _But…" Mordecai warned. "Just to let you all know, Rigby's… not very good at being social."_

" _Hey!" The short mammal blurted out. "I'm as social as I'll ever be, man!"_

 _Everyone tried to hold back their chuckles, but thanks to the raccoon's exaggerated expression, they all burst out laughing._

" _Yeah… 'as you'll ever be'," Mordecai used his feathery fingers to quote-unquote those words._

 _In between laughs, Bugs stated: "Haha! You're pretty good at expressing yourself!" Others behind the rabbit nodded in agreement._

 _Rigby blushed; striped pink tones covered his tan cheeks, similar to how Anime blushes would look. Good thing he won't be showing that often from then on—or so he hoped._

 _Once everyone calmed again, the hare smiled at Rigby apologetically._

" _But honestly, you seem like a great character! Sorry if I offended you or anything; I meant to say that you are impressive as an animation for being here on the very first day."_

 _At that, Rigby seemed to smile a little._

 _Suddenly, a loud popping sound occurred from behind the greeting characters._

 _They turned around, and found two boys with odd-colored tongues and short legs fall on their backs, as the surprise cake exploded with another boy jumping out._

" _EUUGGGGH! Oh dear! Eddy, I told you this was going to be a disaster!" The boy, with a black beanie on his head, tried standing up to wipe the rainbow icing off his clothes._

" _Oh, shut it Sockhead. At least there's still gonna be cake for everyone!" A shorter boy said, not even bothering to clean up the mess._

 _Then, there was the third boy. He was cross-eyed, while munching on cake._

" _Don't worry! As Eddy says, there's plenty of cake for everyone!" He said with his mouth full._

" _ED!" The disgusted boy yelled. But before they started arguing, a nasal-yet-loud voice shouted._

" _Ed, Double D and Eddy!"_

 _It was Bugs._

" _Didn't I tell ya to bring the cake in that house?" He pointed at the big house in the center of Toon City._

 _The Eds couldn't say anything._

" _Well?"_

 _Still nothing, which made Rigby cringe. He didn't like the silence._

" _We sincerely apologize about the incident, Bugs," Edd finally looked up._

" _Yeah, it was a big mistake," Ed added._

" _Judging-by-your-tone-right-now-I-should-probably-say-sorry-as-well," Eddy said, with the rest of his body frozen._

" _Good. And I've been expecting for this to happen, and you know what happens when I knew what would happen?"_

 _The three shook their heads._

" _I bring…" Bugs began, dark shadows shading his features._

" … _An extra-large cake as a back-up!" The shading disappeared, and much to everyone's surprise, he made a brand-new cake come out of a top hat, which he had with him the entire time. Still, no one knew where neither of the items came from, but they didn't seem to care. All except two future groundskeepers._

" _Uh…" Mordecai raised a brow, which was only visible to show expression. Rigby done the same, but at some point he looked a bit irritated._

" _Alright folks! Time to get partyin'" Bugs shouted, causing the rest of the crowd to cheer in excitement._

 _They all hurried to the house, while Mordecai and Rigby walked slowly. Bugs waited for them._

" _Hang on, pals—I need to ask you two something just to keep in mind."_

 _The future groundskeepers glanced at each other for a moment, then back at the rabbit._

" _Okay," they said._

" _Alright, great… So, do you know what genre your show is, or at least remember how it was supposed to be?" The rabbit questioned, making occasional gestures with his hands. He still had a smile on his face. Man, this guy seemed really happy about meeting people._

 _Rigby even noticed how his accent got a bit stronger for the more he spoke. That, to be honest, really annoyed the raccoon. But he kept his mouth shut about that._

" _Um…" Mordecai began. "Well, we know how we have the 'noodle limbs'" The blue jay wiggled his arms to demonstrate._

 _Bugs nodded with patience, waiting for more response._

"… _And, before we arrived, Rigby…"_

 _The raccoon's eyes widened, and immediately tried to cover his friend's beak._

" _Dude, c'mon, we just need to try…" Mordecai hissed._

" _No dude! Don't do it! Please man, he might-"_

 _The hare interrupted. "Hey, um… I know it's hard but… even if it is a broken rule, you're both new here, so your secret's safe with me."_

 _Rigby paused. He usually wouldn't trust others very easily—not even his best friend… but judging by Bugs' gentle tone, he let go of Mordecai._

 _The bird continued: "Rigby… opened the folders that were piled up in some office, before we reached the Main Station. He looked over them; they were descriptions of characters and their histories… and then, he messed up the whole room. A guard came in and we had to be watched until, well, we got here."_

 _The animated mascot didn't look away. His ears seemed to droop a little, but he then smiled; even letting out a small chuckle._

" _That may have been a mistake, but it's no biggie. Lots' a folks tend to be very curious about what's hiding in a worker's office. And they're really mischievous as well! I mean, you should' a seen what Bloo did when he first got here!"_

" _Bloo?" The two questioned in unison._

" _Oh! He's this little blue blob who acts in Foster's Home of Imaginary Friends—critiqued as one of the best cartoons from our channel, now!"_

" _Oh…" They responded._

 _After a few moments, the rabbit re-straightened his back, stretching a bit. He gestured the remaining characters behind him to follow along._

" _Alright… come on, let's go to the house…" He said._

* * *

"Ugh…" Rigby shut his eyes firmly. When he opened them again, he smelt dirt and chemicals. Characters nearby were beginning to construct a new building in some area, but it wasn't for Toon City.

Reluctantly, the raccoon covered his snout, and walked his way to the longer route.


End file.
